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BRIEFING PAPER

Number 05817, 7 June 2018

The Greater London Authority

By Mark Sandford

Contents: 1. History and powers 2. London: structures of

governance 3. Mayoral policy: key areas of

responsibility 4. Mayoral policy: other areas

2 The Greater London Authority

Contents Summary 3

1. History and powers 4 1.1 Establishment 4 1.2 2016 elections 4 1.3 Voting systems 5

2. London: structures of governance 7 2.1 Powers and functions 7 2.2 Changes to powers and functions 8

The 2007 Act 8 Additional powers granted in 2011 9 Further powers sought 9

2.3 London Finance Commission 10 2.4 Sources of revenue 11

3. Mayoral policy: key areas of responsibility 13 3.1 Planning 13 3.2 Transport 14 3.3 Housing 16 3.4 Economic development 17 3.5 Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime 19 3.6 London Fire Commissioner 19

4. Mayoral policy: other areas 21 4.1 Introduction 21 4.2 Recent policy initiatives 21

Appendix: Powers of the GLA 23

Cover page image copyright: Mayor’s office by Simon Greig. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 / image cropped.

3 Commons Library Briefing, 7 June 2018

Summary This note summarises the role and powers of the Mayor of London, including the changes introduced by the Greater London Authority Act 2007. It also describes the role and powers of the London Assembly. It provides explanations of the electoral system and the system of government within the Greater London Authority, with some notes on current policy priorities.

Details on policy developments in London are available in Library briefings on Roads: charging in London; London Underground; Crossrail 1 and 2; and planning in London.

4 The Greater London Authority

1. History and powers

1.1 Establishment The Greater London Authority (GLA) consists of the Mayor of London and the 25-member London Assembly. Both are elected on a four-yearly cycle, with elections on the first Thursday of May. The most recent elections took place on 5 May 2016.

The GLA was initially proposed by the Labour Party in opposition in 1996, via the consultative document A Voice for London. It proposed an executive Mayor and a small, scrutiny-oriented Assembly. This became a manifesto commitment for Labour at the 1997 General Election:

London is the only Western capital without an elected city government. Following a referendum to confirm popular demand, there will be a new deal for London, with a strategic authority and a mayor, each directly elected. Both will speak up for the needs of the city and plan its future.1

The new Labour Government published a Green Paper entitled New Leadership for London in July 1997. This sketched out the Government’s plans for a strong Mayor with a small, ‘strategic’ Assembly to hold the Mayor to account. The establishment of the GLA was subject to a referendum: this was the subject of separate legislation via the Greater London Authority (Referendum) Act 1998. The referendum took place on 7 May 1998, resulting in a large ‘yes’ vote.2

The full proposals were confirmed in a March 1998 White Paper entitled A Mayor and Assembly for London. The Greater London Authority Bill was introduced into Parliament in 1998 (see Library Research Papers 98-115, 116, and 118) and passed as the Greater London Authority Act 1999. The first elections were held on 4 May 2000. Standing as an independent, Ken Livingstone was elected Mayor and four parties achieved representation in the Assembly.3

1.2 2016 elections In 2016, the incumbent Conservative Mayor, Boris Johnson, stepped down after two terms in office. Sadiq Khan (Lab) and Zac Goldsmith (Con) obtained 44.2% and 35% of first choice votes respectively. Once second preference votes were counted for the leading parties in the second round, Mr Khan emerged the winner with 56.8% over Mr Goldsmith’s 43.2%. Mr Khan formally took office on 9 May 2016.4

In the London Assembly, Labour won 12 seats, one short of a majority. The Conservatives took 8 seats. The Green Party retained its two seats, whereas the Liberal Democrats kept only one, and UKIP won two seats.

1 See http://labourmanifesto.com/1997/1997-labour-manifesto.shtml 2 The result was: Yes – 1,230,715 (72.0%); No – 478,413 (28.0%). Turnout was

34.1%. 3 See the LondonElects website for a historical record of election results for both the

Mayor and Assembly. 4 London Election Results 2016, BBC News Online, accessed 13 May 2016

5 Commons Library Briefing, 7 June 2018

Further information about the election results can be found on the London Elects website.

The Mayor has a supporting team, which in law are ‘political advisers’, of which the Mayor is allowed to appoint ten.5 Under previous Mayors these appointments have been described as ‘deputy mayors’, or as the ‘Mayoral cabinet’. Formally there is only one statutory ‘deputy mayor’, who must be a member of the Assembly.

Table 1: deputy mayors and portfolios, April 2018

Joanne McCartney AM Statutory deputy mayor / education

Jules Pipe Planning, Regeneration and Skills

Rajesh Agrawal Business

James Murray Housing

Valerie Shawcross Transport6

Sophie Linden Policing and crime

Matthew Ryder Social integration

Shirley Rodrigues Environment and energy

Justine Simons Culture

Fiona Twycross AM Fire and resilience

Additionally, the Mayor appoints the chairs of the Mayoral Development Corporations (see section 3.4). The chair of the London Legacy Development Corporation is Sir Peter Hendy, and the chair of the Old Oak and Park Royal Corporation is Liz Peace.

1.3 Voting systems The Mayor is elected by the Supplementary Vote system. Voting consists of two crosses: one in a column for the voter’s first choice candidate, and one in a column for the second choice candidate. The first choices are counted, and the top two candidates go through to a run-off. The first choice votes for other candidates are then examined, and where those voters have voted for one of the top two as their second choice, their vote is reallocated. The candidate with the largest number of votes following this process is the winner.7

The London Assembly is elected by the Additional Member system. There are 14 single-member constituencies and 11 additional member or “top-up” seats for the whole of Greater London. Voters have one vote for the constituency member and one vote for the “top-up” seats. The “top-up” seats are allocated on the basis of the top-up votes cast, but this takes into account constituency seats won by the relevant party:

5 Greater London Authority Act 1999, s. 67 6 Deputy chair of Transport for London; the Mayor himself is chair. 7 This system is also used for local authority mayoral elections and elections of Police

and Crime Commissioners.

6 The Greater London Authority

hence overall party strength in the Assembly is proportional to the top-up votes cast. In the London Assembly, parties must win at least 5% of the top-up vote to be entitled to a seat.

Under the 1999 Act, the Mayor must hold two public People’s Question Time events per year; and Mayor’s Question Times, in front of the Assembly, take place 10 times per year.

7 Commons Library Briefing, 7 June 2018

2. London: structures of governance

2.1 Powers and functions The Greater London Authority is a unique authority in the government of the UK. Although it is often described as an example of ‘devolution’, inviting comparison with the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales, and Northern Ireland Assembly, its powers are very limited compared to those bodies. For instance, London’s services in health, education, social care, arts and culture and environmental protection are all delivered by bodies other than the GLA. In areas such as waste and skills, the GLA has a role, but a smaller one than other public bodies in London. Nor is it a conventional local authority. For instance, local authority mayors must select a cabinet from the council and must have their budget passed by a majority on the council; their decisions may also be called in by the council. None of these requirements apply to the GLA. Similarly, it is not an upper-tier local authority with service delivery responsibilities, like county councils. This role is still fulfilled by the London boroughs, which are unitary local authorities.

The Mayor of London holds all of the executive power in the GLA, but certain key actions can be prevented by the London Assembly. The Assembly may amend the Mayor’s annual budget, or a Mayoral strategy, on a two-thirds majority. Other than this, it has no sanctions with which to stop the Mayor taking action.8 The Assembly has the power to hold the Mayor and his/her key advisers to account on a regular basis. It organises itself into subject-based scrutiny committees, taking evidence and publishing reports.9 It also has a budget, audit and standards committee (each covering the whole GLA family), and a Confirmation Hearings Committee. The latter is entitled to hold confirmation hearings for a range of key Mayoral appointments, though it has no power to veto them.10

The Mayor may set up Mayoral Development Corporations (MDCs), under the Localism Act 2011. There are currently two MDCs: the London Legacy Development Corporation, which has been set up to manage the site of the 2012 Olympic Games, and the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, which has been set up to create a transport interchange where HS2 meets Crossrail (see section 3.4 below).

8 No such rejection has ever taken place. So far, only the 2004 mayoralty has seen less

than one-third of Assembly members come from the Mayor’s own party. During that period, the significance of the power to reject the budget lay in its threat rather than its use. The power to reject strategies was introduced in the Localism Act 2011.

9 See the Assembly’s Investigating for Londoners webpage for a list of current scrutiny investigations.

10 The appointments covered are: the chair and deputy chair of Transport for London, chair of a mayoral development corporation; chair of LFEPA; chair of the Cultural Strategy Group; chair of the London Waste and Recycling Board; chair or deputy chair of the London Pensions Fund Authority.

8 The Greater London Authority

The functions of the Mayor differ across policy areas. For the functional bodies, the Mayor appoints members to their boards and sets their budgets and strategy: in practice, he has full authority over them, although the majority of funding for them comes direct from the Treasury, and cannot be moved to another budget area.11 Other matters, such as strategic housing funding and European funding, are handled ‘in-house’ by the GLA, where the Mayor again has full authority.

In a number of additional fields, the Mayor is under a statutory duty to produce strategy documents, intended to serve as a policy direction for the public (and private and voluntary) sectors, but without the wherewithal to deliver the strategy (see section 4 below). In still other areas, the Mayor has the power to appoint members to certain public body boards, but s/he has no direct influence over the powers or budgets that those boards control.

The GLA has a general power of competence, which may be used to promote economic and social development and environmental improvements within London.12 Through this power, previous mayors have set up and resourced a number of initiatives (see section 4.2 below). Generally the Mayor is expected to extend his/her influence beyond the executive functions of the GLA and to use their democratic mandate to ‘knock heads together’, providing leadership to a wide range of actors across London.

2.2 Changes to powers and functions The 2007 Act In late 2005, the Labour Government announced a review of the GLA. A report was published in 2006,13 leading to the Greater London Authority Act 2007 (see Library Research Papers 06-060 and 06-061). Key additional powers conferred by this Act were:

• the establishment of a London Board within the Housing Corporation (land acquisition and social housing has since been fully devolved to the GLA – see below);

• the establishment of the London Skills and Employment Board (LSEB – since abolished);

• additional planning powers in relation to projects of strategic importance;

• power for the Mayor to appoint political party representatives to the board of Transport for London; and

• power for the Assembly to hold non-binding confirmation hearings for a small number of specified senior posts.

11 Greater London Authority Act 1999, s.31 12 See Greater London Authority Act 1999, s. 30 (2) 13 DCLG, The Greater London Authority, The Government’s final proposals for

additional powers and responsibilities for the Mayor and Assembly, 2006

9 Commons Library Briefing, 7 June 2018

Additional powers granted in 2011 The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 introduced Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales. The 2011 Act adjusted the governance of policing in London so that it broadly reflected the changes elsewhere. In London, the Mayor is automatically the Police and Crime Commissioner, heading up the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC: see section 3.5). The London Assembly is required to set up a Policing and Crime Panel to scrutinise MOPAC, equivalent to the panels set up to cover other police force areas. MOPAC’s predecessor, the Metropolitan Police Authority, was abolished.

The Public Bodies Act 2011 abolished the London Development Agency (LDA), a functional body set up under the 1999 Act. Some of its residual powers were absorbed into the GLA.

Additional powers provided to the Mayor under the Localism Act 2011 were:

• taking on the land acquisition and social housing powers of the Homes and Communities Agency for London, including receiving grant from central government for housing purposes;

• maintaining the Economic Development Strategy after the LDA was abolished;

• the power to establish Mayoral Development Corporations for specified areas;

• the introduction of a London Environment Strategy to replace five previous statutory strategies;

• The London Assembly was given the power to reject Mayoral strategies on a two-thirds majority.

Further powers sought In June 2010, following the General Election, the then Mayor wrote to the new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government requesting further devolution of a number of powers.14 He sought more control over franchising of suburban rail services, and the devolution of the Royal Parks Agency and the Port of London Authority. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) agreed in principle to transfer of the Royal Parks, and committed to legislate “when the opportunity arises”.15 A Written Statement on 18 July 2011 indicated that no legislation would be forthcoming: instead, the Royal Parks Agency would remain an executive agency of DCMS, with an enlarged board appointed by the Mayor.16

The coalition Government announced a decision to devolve additional powers to the Mayor in March 2015. These included establishing a London Land Commission, to handle the release of public sector land for housing jointly between the GLA and the Government; joint commissioning of Skills Funding Agency funding; and devolution of

14 See The Mayor of London’s Proposals for Devolution, June 2010. 15 HCDeb 18 Jan 2011 c30-34WS 16 HCDeb 18 Jul 2011 c66WS

10 The Greater London Authority

additional planning powers, including power over development on wharves.

In December 2015, the London Health and Care Collaboration Agreement was signed between the Mayor of London and local and national health stakeholders. This has led to five devolution pilot schemes being tested in various London boroughs.17

In March 2018, a memorandum was published entitled Working Towards Justice Devolution in London. This included commitments to devolve responsibilities to the GLA in three key areas – victims and witnesses, reducing reoffending, and managing vulnerable groups such as female and young prisoners – and discussing the devolution of associated financial resources.

Several proposals have been made for further devolution:

• In July 2015, the Congress of Leaders (the leaders of all the London boroughs and the Mayor of London) made a proposal for further devolution in the areas of employment, skills, business support, crime and justice, health and housing;18

• In September 2015 the London Assembly’s Devolution Working Group published a report citing the need for further devolution powers, especially for fiscal, public service, health and criminal justice devolution;19

• In November 2015, further powers over skills were sought by the London Enterprise panel;20

2.3 London Finance Commission The then Mayor established the London Finance Commission in July 2012, to examine potential additional sources of revenue for the GLA. It produced a report, Raising the Capital, in May 2013. The report proposed that all property taxation within London, including business rates, council tax, capital gains tax, annual tax on enveloped dwellings21 and stamp duty, should be fully devolved to the GLA. This would include powers for the GLA to change council tax band levels and conduct revaluations of domestic property (neither of which has been done since council tax was introduced in 1991). One hundred per cent of business rates would be retained in London, under an adjusted version of the Business Rates Retention Scheme (BRRS); and the GLA would set the business rate multiplier. There would also be “freedom to use business rates to undertake ‘Enterprise Zone’ style interventions”.22 The retention of the revenues from these sources would be offset by a

17 London Councils, Health and care devolution in London, December 2015 18 London Councils, Devolution & Public Service Reform Congress of Leaders, July 2015 19 A New Agreement for London, London Assembly, September 2015 20 London Councils / London LEP, Skills Devolution for London: A Proposal to

Government, November 2015 21 This is a tax on company-owned homes worth over £2 million. 22 London Finance Commission, Raising the capital, 2013, p. 69

11 Commons Library Briefing, 7 June 2018

commensurate reduction in central government funding for GLA functions.23

The report also proposed more local flexibility for fees and charges, many of which are set by national scales; and a more general power to introduce ‘smaller’ local taxes:

We received evidence about a number of smaller new taxes, notably a tourist tax and environmental taxation. The international evidence we received suggested that all the other cities reviewed had one or more tax of this kind, including levies on sales, betting and alcohol. A tourism tax would seem to have particular potential in London because of the size and particular needs of the leisure and tourism industry. If the city’s cultural, tourist and entertainment industry are to flourish, there is a powerful argument for a levy that could then be reinvested in marketing and urban realm improvements. Similarly, allowing London government to introduce levies on, say, environmentally detrimental or unhealthy activity could assist in delivering wider public good objectives. We support the maximum discretion for the GLA and London boroughs in the use of such levies.24

In July 2016 the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, reconvened the London Finance Commission in the wake of the June 2016 vote to leave the European Union. It produced an interim report in October 2016, largely restating the conclusions it reached in its 2013 report Raising the Capital.25 Its final report, Devolution: a capital idea, was published in January 2017. The report recommends the devolution of several taxes to London government, such as stamp duty, Air Passenger Duty, Vehicle Excise Duty, together with a share of income tax and VAT revenue. A tourism tax was also proposed.

The report stated that any tax devolution would be ‘revenue neutral’ at the point at which tax powers were passed to Greater London. It also suggested that other cities with devolution deals were looking with interest at the proposals.

2.4 Sources of revenue The GLA already has a number of sources of revenue. Some of these are available to all local authorities, but because of the size and wealth of London they produce far larger sums of money than elsewhere:

• Council tax precepts – an extra sum collected from council tax-payers. This included an ‘Olympic precept’ from 2005-06 to 2015-16;26

• Three transport-related levies, provided for by the GLA Act 1999: road pricing (the congestion charge), an emissions levy (the Low Emission Zone), and a workplace parking levy. The first two of

23 This idea has been revisited recently by London First in the context of raising money

for the proposed Crossrail 2 scheme. 24 London Finance Commission, Raising the capital, 2013, p. 71 25 See GLA, London Finance Commission, n. d. 26 Before the GLA’s existence, separate precepts were imposed by the Metropolitan

Police and the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. The ‘Olympic precept’ had no separate legal existence.

12 The Greater London Authority

these have been introduced. From September 2019, there will be an additional emission levy, the Ultra Low Emission Zone.27

• Transport for London benefits from fare revenue, against which it can borrow to a limited degree, alongside the borrowing powers available to the Mayor himself;

• The GLA participates in the Business Rates Retention Scheme, which was introduced from 1 April 2013. It will retain 20% of any increase in business rates revenue between 2013 and 2020, from a baseline of the levels of revenue in 2011-13. As of 2018 the GLA and the boroughs are participating in a pilot of 100% business rate retention (see the Library briefing note Reviewing and reforming local government finance for more details);

• A Community Infrastructure Levy was introduced from 1 April 2012. This is payable on new developments in London, at a specified rate per square metre. The Mayor published the first two-year review of the impact of his Community Infrastructure Levy;28

• A supplementary business rate of 2p in the pound, lasting 25 years, was introduced from February 2010, on all businesses in Greater London with a rateable value over £55,000. The funding is being used for Crossrail;29

Both the GLA and its functional bodies are permitted to borrow, though the total borrowed is subject to the Prudential Code under the Local Government Act 2003.

27 TfL, Ultra Low Emission Zone 28 Greater London Authority, Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy: 2014 biennial

review, December 2014. 29 See Greater London Authority, Crossrail Business Rates Supplement Q&A, February

2010, p.29

13 Commons Library Briefing, 7 June 2018

3. Mayoral policy: key areas of responsibility

The GLA has widely differing levels of power in different policy areas. The majority of its spending, and hence the main focus of Mayoral policy, is in transport, followed by housing, policing, economic development and regeneration.

The Mayor is also required to produce a number of statutory strategies (see section 4 below). The powers and resources to deliver the priorities in these strategies largely lie with other public bodies, and they have therefore been a low priority for Mayors so far. In general Mayoral strategies impact on the population of London to the degree that the Mayor has service provision responsibilities and funding with which to deliver them.

This section outlines the main areas of Mayoral policy which impact significantly on the lives of Londoners.

3.1 Planning The Mayor is required to produce a Spatial Development Strategy (known as the London Plan). The then Mayor, Boris Johnson, published an updated version in July 2011. A consultation took place on further amendments during 2014,30 and in March 2015 the Mayor published “Further Alterations to the London Plan”, which were incorporated into the 2011 document.31 In June 2016, Sadiq Khan announced the London Plan was to be amended to provide stronger protection for small businesses and start-up workspace. He also announced that he was working with the Government on changes to permitted development rights.32 The next version of the Plan is expected to be published in late 2019.33

The Mayor also has powers to intervene in applications of ‘potential strategic importance’ submitted to London boroughs. These are governed by the Town and Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008 (SI 2008/580), as amended. This Statutory Instrument defines an application of ‘potential strategic importance’ (PSI) and outlines the procedure to be followed when one is identified. The criteria include:

• development of 150 residential units or more; • development over 30 metres in height (outside the City of

London); • development on Green Belt or Metropolitan Open Land.

If an application is referred to the Mayor of London, the relevant London Borough planning authority would normally indicate to the

30 See GLA, Further Alterations to the London Plan 2014, 2015 31 See Mayor of London, The London Plan: the spatial development strategy for

London consolidated with alterations since 2011, March 2015 32 GLA, Mayor announces new office-space protection for small business, 3 June 2016 33 See https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/planning/london-plan/new-london-

plan/what-new-london-plan

14 The Greater London Authority

Mayor whether or not it is minded to approve the application. The Mayor can then do one of three things:

• Allow the London borough to determine the planning application;

• Direct the London borough to refuse the planning application;

• “Call in” the planning application.34

The Mayor also has the power to “call in” certain planning applications for determination.35 The Mayor may issue a direction to call in an application of potential strategic importance if all of the following criteria are met:

• The development or any of the issues raised by it are of such a nature or scale that it would have a significant impact on the implementation of the London Plan;

• The development or any of the issues raised by it have significant effects that are likely to affect more than one London borough;

• There are sound planning reasons for issuing a direction.

During his tenure as Mayor, Boris Johnson used the power to call in 19 times.36 As of February 2018, Sadiq Khan had used the power five times.37

3.2 Transport Transport for London (TfL) is responsible for delivering transport in London; it is chaired by the Mayor.38 The Mayor must produce a transport strategy. TfL has responsibility for the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, buses, trams, taxis and private hire vehicles, riverboat services and the Emirates Air Line (a cable car) in East London.

In March 2018 Sadiq Khan published the Mayor’s Transport Strategy. It emphasises the need to create streets and street networks that encourage walking, cycling and public transport use. In terms of public transport, the strategy outlines plans to:

• Build Crossrail 2;

• Upgrade and extend the Tube network;

• Create more bus priority schemes across London;

• Make stations and vehicles more accessible.39

Sadiq Khan has announced an efficiency savings programme to enable fares on TfL services to be frozen until 2020 and a “Hopper” bus fare,

34 See the Town and Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008 (SI 2008/580) 35 See the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, sections 2A-2E 36 Jbp, Boris Johnson’s planning decisions in his final months as mayor, 2 June 2016 37 https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/mayor-takes-over-planning-

application 38 Both the current Mayor and his predecessor chaired Transport for London, though

the legislation merely allows the Mayor to do so; it is not a requirement. 39 TFL, The Mayor’s Transport Strategy, accessed 19 April 2018

15 Commons Library Briefing, 7 June 2018

where an additional bus or tram journey can be made for free within one hour of when the customer first touched in.40

Air quality is a significant issue in London, with significant amounts of pollution coming from road traffic, particularly on the main roads through the capital. Successive mayors have sought to tackle air pollution, both directly and indirectly via reducing congestion, through various road charging schemes: the Congestion Charge, the Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) and the Ultra Low Emissions Zone.41 Sadiq Khan plans to:

• Introduce a central London ULEZ in 2019, covering the same area as the present congestion charge. The Mayor also consulted, in late 2017, on extending it beyond central London from 2020 for motorcycles, cars and vans, up to the North and South Circular Roads; and for lorries, buses and coaches London-wide;42

• Introduce a £10 Emissions Surcharge (dubbed the 'T-charge') on the most polluting vehicles entering central London: this came into force on 23 October 2017;

• Develop a detailed proposal for a national diesel scrappage scheme to put to the Government;

• Require new taxis licensed from 2018 to be zero emission capable;

• Manage an ‘air quality fund’ of £20 million of funding for borough projects, running from 2015 to 2025;

• Ensure that all new double-decker buses are hybrid vehicles from 2018 onwards, and bring forward the requirement for all double-decker buses to be ULEZ-compliant in central London to 2019; and

• Implement ‘clean bus corridors’.43

The Mayor is setting up five Low Emission Neighbourhoods – Barbican, Ilford, Greenwich, City Fringe and Marylebone - to come into effect in 2019. They will have low-pollution measures such as new penalties for the most polluting vehicles, car-free days, green taxi ranks for zero emission-capable cabs and parking reserved for the cleanest vehicles.44

Successive mayors have also sought to develop London’s transport infrastructure by introducing cycle superhighways, improving the arterial road network and improving public transport links by upgrading the Tube, improving London Overground and regional rail and constructing new infrastructure like east-west Crossrail, due to open in 2019. The mayor and the Government are also working to develop the north-south Crossrail 2, which if given the go-ahead would be delivered during the 2020s.45

Successive mayors have also sought more transport powers and responsibilities from central government. Most recently, in February 40 GLA, First savings found to fund Mayor’s fares freeze on TfL services, 8 June 2016 41 Details are given in Library briefing papers SN1171 (Local Road Charges) and

SN2044 (Roads: Charging in London) 42 TfL, Air Quality consultation stage 3b, February 2018 43 TfL, Improving air quality. See also the GLA pages on air quality. 44 See TfL, Low Emission Neighbourhoods. The Air Quality Fund provides the funding. 45 More details on Crossrail can be found in Library briefing paper SN876 (Railways:

Crossrail 1 and 2)

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2015 the then Chancellor, George Osborne and Boris Johnson announced that TfL would take over rail services between Liverpool Street, Enfield Town, Cheshunt (via Seven Sisters) and Chingford and gain control of most of the stations servicing those routes over the following 5-7 years.46 A consultation was launched in 2016 on transferring services on several suburban routes to TfL, including routes stretching some way beyond the Greater London boundary. There has been no response to the consultation, and it appears that the Government is unwilling to transfer further routes to TfL at present.47

Finally, although the mayor and TfL have no formal role in the decision as to whether to expand Heathrow or provide additional air capacity elsewhere in the South East, their role would be crucial in terms of evaluating any impact on public transport in London from higher numbers of passengers using the South East airports. Successive mayors have not been shy about voicing their opinions on airport expansion; Sadiq Khan backs Gatwick over Heathrow.48

3.3 Housing The provisions in the Localism Act 2011 (see section 2.2 above) devolved housing strategy and funding to the GLA from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). Previously, a joint arrangement saw a separate ‘HCA London Board’ operating within the HCA. This was chaired by the Mayor and oversaw HCA investment in London in line with the London Housing Strategy.

The current Housing Strategy dates from June 2014; it was approved by the Secretary of State in October 2014. Amongst its priorities are: building 42,000 homes a year between 2015 and 2025; pushing for a long-term financial settlement for London government to enable housing development; and improving the range of private rented accommodation available.

The Mayor’s housing strategy also includes the aim of bringing forward land for development and accelerating the pace of housing delivery through Housing Zones and the London Housing Bank. In June 2014 the Mayor invited bids for Housing Zone status, and as of July 2016, 30 areas had been successful. These developments should provide 77,000 new homes: a third of these will be affordable.49

In September 2014 the Mayor launched the first phase of the London Housing Bank, by publishing a funding prospectus for £200 million of loan funding to accelerate the pace of development and deliver up to 3,000 additional homes. In March 2015 funding allocations for the first phase of the programme were announced, with £53 million allocated to accelerate the delivery of 643 homes by an average of two years.

46 HMT press notice, “Long term economic plan for London announced by Chancellor

and Mayor of London”, 20 February 2015 47 Railways: Greater London: Written question - HL4450, 16 January 2017 48 More details in Library briefing paper SN1136 (Heathrow Airport) 49 Housing Zones, Mayor of London website, accessed 13 May 2016

17 Commons Library Briefing, 7 June 2018

The Mayor manages a programme for affordable homes that will run from 2016-21. This makes funding available for affordable homes to boroughs, housing associations and developers. Guidelines for applying for funding can be found on the GLA website. There is also a parallel ‘innovation fund’ seeking applications for community-led housing, offsite manufacture, and accommodation for homeless households.

Sadiq Khan published a new draft Housing Strategy in early 2018. It had five key areas:

• Building more homes for Londoners

• Delivering genuinely affordable homes

• High quality homes and inclusive neighbourhoods

• A fairer deal for private renters and leaseholders

• Tackling homelessness and helping rough sleepers.50

The final strategy will be published during 2018.

3.4 Economic development Sections 197-222 of the Localism Act 2011 permit the Mayor to establish Mayoral Development Corporations (MDCs), for regeneration purposes, covering a specified area or areas of land. The Mayor may make an MDC the planning authority for its area, and it may provide infrastructure: this is widely defined to include roads, utilities, health and educational facilities, and community and recreational facilities. It can acquire land, and do so by compulsory purchase if authorised by the Secretary of State.

The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) went live on 1 April 2012, inheriting some staff and land from the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation and the Olympic Delivery Authority. It became the planning authority for its area from 1 October 2012.51 The LLDC consulted in 2014 on establishing a community infrastructure levy (CIL) in the area it covers. This came into effect in April 2015, and it will be used to fund infrastructure which will support the regeneration of the Legacy Corporation’s area.

Following a consultation process in 2014, the then Mayor, Boris Johnson, launched a new MDC, the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, in April 2015. This too is the planning authority within its area. The corporation will lead on developing an interchange station between Crossrail and the proposed HS2 high speed rail line, which is due to open in 2026. The Mayor also plans to build 24,000 homes and create 65,000 new jobs in the Old Oak Common area.

50 GLA, Tackling London’s Housing Crisis, 2017 51 See the London Legacy Development Corporation (Planning Functions) Order 2012

(SI 2012/2167). See the LLDC’s website for further details on the Corporation’s planning role.

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In June 2016, Sadiq Khan launched a formal review of the OPDC. The Deputy Mayor for Housing, James Murray, said:

Old Oak and Park Royal is one of the most important regeneration projects in London with scope to deliver tens of thousands of new homes and jobs. Although it will be the early 2020s before any significant numbers of new homes are built we need to act now to ensure this project benefits as many Londoners as possible, as quickly as possible. This review will take a detailed look at past decisions made by Boris Johnson and the future direction of the Development Corporation.52

The subsequent report was critical of Boris Johnson for “‘rushing headlong’ into an agreement with Government to transfer land at Old Oak that was made on unfavourable terms compared to other major regeneration schemes in the country”.53

The residual functions of the London Development Agency were merged into the GLA under section 191 of the Localism Act 2011.54 They have been combined with the management of funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which transferred from the LDA into the GLA on 1 July 2011.55 London’s share of the ERDF and the European Social Fund (ESF) total some €750 million over the 2014-2020 programming period. Following the vote to leave the European Union, the future of this funding stream after 2020 is not yet clear.

On 17 February 2011, the Government approved a single Local Enterprise Partnership56 for the whole of London, to be supported by the GLA. The LEP was named the ‘London Economic Action Partnership’.57 LEAP is also responsible for producing a strategy for the use of the ERDF and ESF. Calls for proposals can be viewed on its website. LEAP manages the funding for the 2014-20 round in accordance with its strategy.

In December 2017 Sadiq Khan published the draft Economic Development Strategy for London. The consultation period ran until 13 March 2018 and responses are currently being reviewed.58 Among the initiatives included in the draft strategy was an incentive for tech start-ups and medium-sized businesses to address issues such as inequality, air quality and the challenges of an ageing population:

Using funding from the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP), 15 companies will initially be selected to receive targeted business support with up to three of them receiving £15,000 to further develop their ideas.59

52 GLA, Mayor launches review of Old Oak and Park Royal Corporation, 23 June 2016 53 GLA, Mayor reveals ‘mess’ left at Old Oak Common in review findings, November

2016 54 See HC Deb 7 Sept 2010, c22WH 55 The future management of the ERDF across England was addressed in a written

statement on 3 February 2011: HCDeb 3 Feb 2011 c48-9W 56 See Library briefing paper SN05651 for more information on Local Enterprise

Partnerships. 57 See https://lep.london/ 58 https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/business-and-economy/economy-works-all-

londoners 59 https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/sadiq-sets-out-vision-for-

inclusive-economy

19 Commons Library Briefing, 7 June 2018

3.5 Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime As noted above, in London, the Mayor takes on the role, ex officio, of elected Police and Crime Commissioners elsewhere in England and Wales. Formally, the Queen appoints the Metropolitan Police Service Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner on the advice of the Home Secretary.60

The Mayor’s Office must secure the maintenance of the Metropolitan police force and ensure that it is efficient and effective. It must publish a policing and crime plan at least annually.61 The Assembly is required to set up a special-purpose committee called the Policing and Crime Panel, which can scrutinise the plan and require any staff member in the Mayor’s Office of Policing and Crime to attend and answer questions.62

Boris Johnson, the previous Mayor, produced a Police and Crime Plan, running from 2013 to 2016. In March 2017 Sadiq Khan published his Police and Crime Plan 2017-21 which outlined three priorities to be tackled:

• Violence against women and girls

• Keeping children and young people safe

• Hate crime and intolerance

Two documents have been published following commitments outlined in the Police and Crime Plan: A Safer City for Women and Girls: The London Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2018-2021 and the London Knife Crime Strategy 2017.

3.6 London Fire Commissioner In January 2016, the Government announced its decision to abolish the previous London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) and make the Mayor directly responsible for fire and rescue services.63 The Policing and Crime Act 2017 replaces LFEPA with a London Fire Commissioner and a Deputy Mayor for Fire. The London Fire Commissioner (LFC) was established as a corporation sole and new functional body from 1 April 2018.64 The Mayor appointed Dany Cotton as the first Commissioner and Fiona Twycross AM as Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience.

This decision was made in the context of England-wide promotion of closer working between fire and police services. There was also a recent history of political disagreement: in early 2013, the LFEPA board attempted to reject the then Mayor’s plan to close twelve fire stations in order to address budget reductions. The Mayor issued a direction to require LFEPA to include the options of closing fire stations and cutting job numbers in a public consultation. LFEPA sought legal advice on whether they could disregard the Mayor’s direction, which identified

60 This information taken from the explanatory notes to the Bill. 61 Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, s. 6 62 Ibid., s. 32-33. 63 HCWMS489, 26 January 2016 64 GLA, The London Fire Commissioner Governance Direction 2018

20 The Greater London Authority

that no power existed to do so. A judicial review of the process, brought by several London boroughs, found in the Mayor’s favour in the High Court in December 2013.65

LFEPA had 17 members: eight from the London Assembly, seven from the London boroughs, and two Mayoral appointees. The chair was appointed by the Mayor from among the 17 members. The distribution of Assembly and borough membership was required to reflect the political balance in the Assembly and the boroughs respectively.

65 See LFEPA, London fire judicial review ruling, 20 December 2013.

21 Commons Library Briefing, 7 June 2018

4. Mayoral policy: other areas

4.1 Introduction The Mayor must produce seven statutory strategy documents: transport, economic development, housing, spatial development (the London Plan), environment, culture, and health inequalities.

Each strategy has a number of consultation requirements and a statutory procedure governing its creation and publication.66 Additionally, when making each strategy, the Mayor must have regard to public health and sustainable development; consult the Assembly, the functional bodies and the boroughs; and make copies of the document available to the public. Each strategy is published in draft before being finalised.

Each strategy is expected to set a direction of travel for London as a whole (not just for the GLA). The Mayor has executive responsibilities over housing, transport and economic development, but in the policy areas covered by the other strategies, s/he has no power to direct public bodies outside the ‘GLA family’ to follow the strategy. To the extent that the strategies are ‘delivered’, this is dependent on Mayoral exhortation, relationships and influence.

The statutory strategies do not necessarily have a higher profile than non-statutory initiatives. Both statutory and non-statutory means may be used to trial new initiatives, to support or strengthen the private or voluntary sectors, and/or to address cross-cutting issues of policy.

4.2 Recent policy initiatives • Culture is driven by the London Cultural Strategy Group, which

produced a statutory strategy, Cultural Metropolis, in March 2014.67 In March 2018 Sadiq Khan published Culture for all Londoners, the Mayor’s Draft Culture Strategy. The Mayor also has appointment rights over the Arts Council’s London board and the board of the Museum of London.

• In August 2017 the draft London Environment Strategy was published which brings together approaches to every aspect of the city’s environment. Prior to 2011, the Mayor was required to produce separate strategies on climate change, air quality, ambient noise, waste and biodiversity. The GLA also provides funding for the London Sustainable Development Commission and the London Waste and Recycling Board;68

• Pan-London health issues are taken forward by the London Health Board. The Board is chaired by the Mayor and its members include mayoral appointees and representatives from the health and local government worlds. The Board’s terms of reference include improving the health of Londoners through pan-London collaboration; making the case for resources for London’s

66 Localism Act 2011, s.228: for the original procedure, see GLA Act 1999, sections 41-

44. 67 See Cultural Metropolis 2014 - The Mayor's culture strategy for London. 68 GLA, Draft London Environment Strategy, 2017

22 The Greater London Authority

healthcare system; and supporting London government in its statutory responsibilities for health and public health;

• Promotion of volunteering and mentoring is led by Team London;

• The Mayor has adopted a “London living wage” for the bodies in the GLA Group. An initial GLA report in May 2009 set the London living wage at £7.60 per hour (compared to the then National Minimum Wage of £5.73 per hour). It currently sits at £10.20 per hour;69

• London & Partners, a not-for-profit body, handles foreign direct investment, tourism, and advertising of university opportunities;

• A London Land Commission existed from July 2015 to January 2016, bringing together major public sector landholders across London. The Commission has published a register of all publicly-owned land in London;

• Small amounts of funding are made available for energy-related schemes, addressing fuel poverty, energy switching, boiler scrappage, bulk buying of solar panels, and a Community Energy Fund;

• Several food-related programmes are administered by the London Food Board in accordance with the London Food Strategy.

69 GLA, London Living Wage, accessed 19 April 2018

23 Commons Library Briefing, 7 June 2018

Appendix: Powers of the GLA

Policy area 1999 2007 2011

Transport Transport for London: Tube, trams, buses, trunk roads, taxi regulation, river services. Power to impose congestion charge, emissions charge, workplace parking levy

Business rate supplement and community infrastructure levy contributing to Crossrail funding

Economic development

London Development Agency (took on Business Link in 2004) Appointment of board

LDA abolished; remaining functions and assets to transfer to GLA, together with EU funding. Single London-wide LEP.

Environment Strategies on ambient noise; air quality; biodiversity; waste

Climate change mitigation and energy strategy; Waste and Recycling forum and fund Power to direct authorities to have regard to Mayor’s waste strategy

Five environmental strategies (noise, air quality, biodiversity, waste, climate change) to become Environment Strategy.

Housing Chair of the London Housing Board Housing Strategy and Housing Investment Plan: high-level decisions over regional housing funding

Budget and functions of Homes and Communities Agency for London pass to Mayor.

24 The Greater London Authority

Policing Mayor appoints and sets budget of Metropolitan Police Authority, the board controlling the Metropolitan Police Service.

Mayor may chair MPA MPA abolished, Mayoral Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) created. Statutory Assembly Policing and Crime Panel to scrutinise MOPAC.

Fire London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority: board appointed and budget set by Mayor

London Fire Commissioner (2018)

Culture Cultural strategy Appointment of the chair of Arts Council England (London) Appointment of eight board members to the Museum of London

Planning Producing London Plan Right to be consulted by boroughs on applications of ‘strategic importance’ Power to reject such applications

Right to determine applications of ‘strategic importance’ Rights to direct boroughs to change their local plans to ensure conformity with London Plan

Mayor only to focus on the largest planning applications

Health Health inequalities strategy Creation of London Health Board

BRIEFING PAPER Number 05817 7 June 2018

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